November 2010 Book Remarks

November 2010 Book Remarks

Reference: Got hooked on “Who Do You Think You Are?” Take a look at the companion book, Who Do You Think You Are? The Essential Guide to Tracing Your Family History by Megan Smolenyak (Viking). It’s ideal for those starting their search: Sound step-by-step instructions get you off to a great start in online and offline sources.

Fiction:Brava, Valentine (Harper), Adriana Trigiani’s sequel to Very Valentine, follows shoe designer Valentine Roncalli to Buenos Aires, where she finds an unexpected piece of family history: a black cousin. Until her discovery, no one knew why her great-grandfather had severed ties with his brother. This book centers around the importance of family ties—at the heart of any Italian story.

Social history: In 1587, 118 men, women, and children left England for America. They landed on an island off the coast of North Carolina. By 1590, the island was abandoned and the colonists had disappeared. A Kingdom Strange: The Brief and Tragic History of the Lost Colony of Roanoke by James Horn (Basic Books) reconstructs the colonists’ story, offering new theories on what became of them.

Biography: Historian Marla R. Miller provides a comprehensive look at one of US history’s best-known women. In Betsy Ross and the Making of America (Henry Holt and Co.), Miller separates myth from truth to reveal the life of the seamstress and flag maker. Miller also takes us beyond Betsy into the stories of family members and life in Revolutionary War-era Philadelphia.